By Drew Johnson

Friday, Mar 9th, 2012 @ 1:18 pm

Ford has pledged to make its United States lineup 20 percent more efficient by 2020. Ford says it will achieve that goal through electric vehicles like the Focus Electric, as well as improvements to its gasoline-powered cars.

Electric vehicles will remain just a small portion of Ford's vehicle sales by the year 2020, but battery-powered cars should help the company's overall efficiency story. The Ford Focus EV is rated at 105mpg-e, which is good enough to claim the title of the nation's most efficient five-passenger vehicle.

But in addition to the addition of new zero-emissions models, Ford will also focus on the improvement of its gas-powered cars. Ford is adding an automatic start-stop function to its Fusion sedan later this year and is also debuting a new hybrid system. Ford has previously stated that it plans to increase production of its fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine range.

Improvements to powertrains will just be part of the initiative, though, as the Dearborn-based automaker will also work to reduce vehicle weight, according to the Detroit Free Press. Ford says some models will lose up to 700 pounds, and its upcoming Transit commercial van will save 300 pounds compared to its current E-Series.

Ford predicted in 2010 that hybrid vehicles would make up 25 percent of its total sales by 2020.